 The
Scotch Malt Whisky Society is a
Independent Bottler members only club
who sells its whiskies exclusively to
its members.
The SMWS was founded by Philip 'Pip'
Hills, who whilst on holiday in the
1970's in the Highlands of Scotland was
surprised by a whisky a farmer sold him
near Glenfarclas. He had never tasted
anything like it and wanted to be able
to sample such whiskies straight from
the cask more often.
Hills was so affected by what he had tasted
that, in 1978, he persuaded several
acquaintances to share in the cost of a
cask from the Glenfarclas distillery.
Over time, the group of friends expanded
to become a small syndicate and more
casks were purchased, bottled and
distributed to subscribing members.
Coinciding with the decision to open
membership to the wider public in 1983,
the Society purchased its first
property, The Vaults, in Leith; a
building, whose vaulted wine cellars
reputedly stretch back to the 12th
century.
The Society created a set of members’
rooms there.
In 1996, the Society launched a share
scheme for its members, the proceeds
from which were invested in the purchase
of a London venue.
2004 saw the Society purchase a second
venue in Edinburgh – a Georgian
townhouse on Queen Street. In the same
year, the Society was acquired by
Glenmorangie PLC.
 To mark the 25th anniversary of its
foundation, the Society redesigned its
bottles, to include more information and
a full tasting note on the front of the
bottle.
Today the Scotch Malt Whisky Society
runs three private members’ rooms in the
UK, where whiskies are sold by the
bottle or for consumption on the
premises by the dram. These are located
at The Vaults, Leith; 28 Queen Street,
Edinburgh; and 19 Greville Street,
London.
Casks are only acquired
by the Society after approval by an
appointed ‘Tasting Panel’, comprising
Society representatives, those directly
involved in the distilling industry and
various other suitably qualified
parties.
The Tasting Panel also gives each
bottling a whimsical set of tasting
notes which provide an indication of
what flavours and textures the drinker
can expect. Each bottle is also given a
quirky and descriptive name - such as
‘Fragrant smoke from an Islay hearth’ or
‘Wild West cowgirl dressed in leather’.
The SMWS policy of not revealing the
origin of the whisky in the bottle
continues to this day as they never name
the distillery of origin on the label
but give each distillery a code number
and allow members to try guess from the
descriptions.
The Society has also bottled single
casks from seven grain whisky
distilleries, identified by the prefix
‘G’ in the cask number. Of course the
SMWS bottling codes are well known
today, follow the link below for a list
Over the years the SMWS has bottled over
100 distilleries and the society has
expanded considerably and now has
branches in several international
locations including Australia, Austria,
Benelux, France, Germany, India, Italy,
Japan, Poland, South Africa, Sweden,
Switzerland, Taiwan, and the U.S.A
For more info and pricing to join The
SMWS and to view the latest SMWS
bottlings visit their website here
www.smws.com
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Scotch Malt Whisky Society Bottling Codes
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SMWS malt and grain whisky distillery bottling codes:
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